Knowledge acquisition in expert

systems

FOR: 4Th year Sec C

By:
(37-42)
B.Tech (E&T)
 Expert system
• Expert systems are complex AI programs.
• Expert systems are the system that normally solve the
problems otherwise solved by human experts e.g.
(engineering ;scientific analysis ;medical diagnosis and
financial analysis).
• They support the expert-level problems by building up a
domain knowledge base.
• AI programs that achieve expert-level competence in
solving problems in task areas by bringing to bear a body of
knowledge about specific tasks are called knowledge-based
or expert systems.
 Some Terms Used
• The area of human intellectual endeavour to be
captured in an expert system is called the task
domain.
• Building an expert system is known as knowledge
engineering and its practitioners are called
knowledge engineers.
• A knowledge engineer is a computer scientist who
knows how to design and implement programs that
incorporate artificial intelligence techniques
 Knowledge engineer’s job
• The knowledge engineer must make sure that the
computer has all the knowledge needed to solve a
problem.
• The knowledge engineer must choose one or more
forms in which to represent the required knowledge as
symbol patterns in the memory of the computer -- that
is, he (or she) must choose a knowledge representation.
• He must also ensure that the computer can use the
knowledge efficiently by selecting from a handful of
reasoning methods.
• The area of human intellectual endeavour to be
captured in an expert system is called the task
domain.
• Task refers to some goal-oriented, problem-
solving activity.
• Domain refers to the area within which the task
is being performed. Typical tasks are diagnosis,
planning, scheduling, configuration and design.
 Architecture of ES

• Every ES is comprised essentially of two parts

1. Problem dependent set of data declarations called the

knowledge base or rule base.
2. Problem independent (although highly data structure
dependent) program aka inference engine.
 Knowledge Base
• Contains both factual and heuristic knowledge.
• Factual knowledge is that knowledge of the task domain that
is widely shared, typically found in textbooks or journals, and
commonly agreed upon by those knowledgeable in the
particular field.
• Heuristic knowledge is the less rigorous, more experiential,
more judgmental knowledge of performance. In contrast to
factual knowledge, heuristic knowledge is rarely discussed,
and is largely individualistic. It is the knowledge of good
practice, good judgment, and plausible reasoning in the field.
It is the knowledge that underlies the "art of good guessing."
 Inference Engine
• The problem-solving model, or paradigm, organizes and controls the
steps taken to solve the problem. The problem-solving methods are
built into program modules called inference engines or inference
procedures that manipulate and use knowledge in the knowledge base
to form a line of reasoning.
• 3 parts an interpreter; scheduler and a consistency enforcer.
• Interpreter executes the chosen agenda items by applying
corresponding base rules
• A scheduler maintains control over the agenda by estimating the effects
if applying inference rules in light of item priorities or other criteria on
the agenda.
• A consistency enforcer attempts to maintain a consistent
representation of the emerging solution.
 Knowledge representation
• It formalizes and organizes the knowledge. One widely used representation is the
production rule, or simply rule. A rule consists of an IF part and a THEN part (also called a
condition and an action). The IF part lists a set of conditions in some logical combination.
The piece of knowledge represented by the production rule is relevant to the line of
reasoning being developed if the IF part of the rule is satisfied; consequently, the THEN
part can be concluded, or its problem-solving action taken. Expert systems whose
knowledge is represented in rule form are called rule-based systems.
• Another widely used representation, called the unit (also known as frame, schema, or list
structure) is based upon a more passive view of knowledge. The unit is an assemblage of
associated symbolic knowledge about an entity to be represented. Typically, a unit
consists of a list of properties of the entity and associated values for those properties.
• Since every task domain consists of many entities that stand in various relations, the
properties can also be used to specify relations, and the values of these properties are the
names of other units that are linked according to the relations. One unit can also
represent knowledge that is a "special case" of another unit, or some units can be "parts
of" another unit.
 Working
• A knowledge engineer interviews and observes a human expert
or a group of experts and learns what the experts know, and
how they reason with their knowledge.
• The engineer then translates the knowledge into a computer-
usable language, and designs an inference engine, a reasoning
structure, that uses the knowledge appropriately. He also
determines how to integrate the use of uncertain knowledge in
the reasoning process, and what kinds of explanation would be
useful to the end user.
• Next, the inference engine and facilities for representing
knowledge and for explaining are programmed, and the domain
knowledge is entered into the program piece by piece.
• It may be that the inference engine is not just right; the
form of knowledge representation is awkward for the kind
of knowledge needed for the task; and the expert might
decide the pieces of knowledge are wrong. All these are
discovered and modified as the expert system gradually
gains competence.
• The discovery and cumulation of knowledge of a task
domain is the province of domain experts.
• Domain knowledge consists of both formal, textbook
knowledge, and experiential knowledge -- the expertise of
the experts
 Knowledge
• The most important ingredient in any expert
system is knowledge.
• The power of expert systems resides in the
specific, high-quality knowledge they contain
about task domains.
• Knowledge has uncertainty.
 Applications of ES
• Diagnosis and Troubleshooting of Devices and Systems of All Kinds
This class comprises systems that deduce faults and suggest corrective actions for a
malfunctioning device or process. Medical diagnosis was one of the first knowledge areas to
which ES technology was applied but diagnosis of engineered systems quickly surpassed
medical diagnosis. There are probably more diagnostic applications of ES than any other type.

• Planning and Scheduling

Examples involve airline scheduling of flights, personnel, and gates; manufacturing job-shop
scheduling; and manufacturing process planning.
• Configuration of Manufactured Objects from Subassemblies
Configuration, whereby a solution to a problem is synthesized from a given set of elements
related by a set of constraints, is historically one of the most important of expert system
applications. Configuration applications were pioneered by computer companies as a means of
facilitating the manufacture of semi-custom minicomputers (McDermott 1981). The technique
has found its way into use in many different industries, for example, modular home building,
manufacturing, and other problems involving complex engineering design and manufacturing.
• Financial Decision Making
Advisory programs have been created to assist bankers in determining whether to make
loans to businesses and individuals. Insurance companies have used expert systems to
assess the risk presented by the customer and to determine a price for the insurance. A
typical application in the financial markets is in foreign exchange trading.
• Knowledge Publishing
The primary function of the expert system is to deliver knowledge that is relevant to the
user's problem, in the context of the user's problem.
• Process Monitoring and Control
Systems falling in this class analyze real-time data from physical devices with the goal of
noticing anomalies, predicting trends, and controlling for both optimality and failure
correction. Examples of real-time systems that actively monitor processes can be found in
the steel making and oil refining industries.
• Design and Manufacturing
ranging from high-level conceptual design of abstract entities all the way to factory floor
configuration of manufacturing processes.
 Knowledge Acquisition
• Knowledge acquisition includes the elicitation,
collection, analysis, modelling and validation
of knowledge for knowledge engineering and
knowledge management projects.
 Issues in Knowledge Acquisition

• Some of the most important issues in knowledge

acquisition are as follows:
• Most knowledge is in the heads of experts
• Experts have vast amounts of knowledge
• Experts have a lot of tacit knowledge
– They don't know all that they know and use
– Tacit knowledge is hard (impossible) to describe
• Experts are very busy and valuable people
• Each expert doesn't know everything
• Knowledge has a "shelf life"
 Requirements for KA Techniques

• Because of these issues, techniques are

required which:
– Take experts off the job for short time periods
– Allow non-experts to understand the knowledge
– Focus on the essential knowledge
– Can capture tacit knowledge
– Allow knowledge to be collated from different
experts
– Allow knowledge to be validated and maintained
 KA Techniques

• The following list gives a brief introduction to the types of techniques

used for acquiring, analysing and modelling knowledge:
• Protocol-generation techniques include various types of interviews
(unstructured, semi-structured and structured), reporting techniques
(such as self-report and shadowing) and observational techniques
• Protocol analysis techniques are used with transcripts of interviews or
other text-based information to identify various types of knowledge,
such as goals, decisions, relationships and attributes. This acts as a
bridge between the use of protocol-based techniques and knowledge
modelling techniques.
• Hierarchy-generation techniques, such as laddering , are used to build
taxonomies or other hierarchical structures such as goal trees and
decision networks.
• Matrix-based techniques involve the construction of grids indicating such things
as problems encountered against possible solutions. Important types include the
use of frames for representing the properties of concepts and the repertory grid
technique used to elicit, rate, analyse and categorise the properties of concepts.
• Sorting techniques are used for capturing the way people compare and order
concepts, and can lead to the revelation of knowledge about classes, properties
and priorities.
• Limited-information and constrained-processing tasks are techniques that either
limit the time and/or information available to the expert when performing tasks.
For instance, the twenty-questions technique provides an efficient way of
accessing the key information in a domain in a prioritised order.
• Diagram-based techniques include the generation and use of concept maps, state
transition networks, event diagrams and process maps. The use of these is
particularly important in capturing the &quotwhat, how, when, who and why" of
tasks and events.
 Comparison of KA Techniques

• The vertical axis on the figure represents the dimension from object knowledge to process knowledge,
and the horizontal axis represents the dimension from explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge.
 Steps for KA
• Conduct an initial interview with the expert in order to
(a) scope what knowledge is to be acquired,
(b) determine what purpose the knowledge is to be put
(c) gain some understanding of key terminology
(d) build a rapport with the expert. This interview (as with all
session with experts) is recorded on either audiotape or videotape.
• Transcribe the initial interview and analyse the resulting protocol. Create
a concept ladder of the resulting knowledge to provide a broad
representation of the knowledge in the domain. Use the ladder to
produce a set of questions which cover the essential issues across the
domain and which serve the goals of the knowledge acquisition project.
• Conduct a semi-structured interview with the expert using the pre-
prepared questions to provide structure and focus.
• Transcribe the semi-structured interview and analyse the resulting protocol for
the knowledge types present. Typically these would be concepts, attributes,
values, relationships, tasks and rules.
• Represent these knowledge elements using the most appropriate knowledge
models, e.g. ladders, grids, network diagrams, hypertext, etc. In addition,
document anecdotes, illustrations and explanations in a structured manner using
hypertext and template headings.
• Use the resulting knowledge models and structured text with contrived
techniques such as laddering, think aloud problem-solving, twenty questions and
repertory grid to allow the expert to modify and expand on the knowledge
already captured.
• Repeat the analysis, model building and acquisition sessions until the expert and
knowledge engineer are happy that the goals of the project have been realised.
• Validate the knowledge acquired with other experts, and make modifications
where necessary.
 Recent developments
• First, methodologies have been introduced that provide frameworks and
generic knowledge to help guide knowledge acquisition activities and ensure
the development of each expert system is performed in an efficient manner.
• A second important development is the creation and use of ontologies. The
main use of an ontology is to share and communicate knowledge, both
between people and between computer systems.
• A third development has been an increasing use of software tools to aid the
acquisition process. Software packages, such as PCPACK, contain a number of
tools to help the knowledge engineer analyse, structure and store the
knowledge required.
• A fourth recent development is the use of knowledge engineering principles
and techniques in contexts other than the development of expert systems. A
notable use of the technology in another field is as an aid to knowledge
management within organisational contexts.